Welcome to the third phase of your transformation. The first phase of the program was designed to set you up with a body and mind that would receptive to change. We’re products of our habits and when a strong foundation is laid and then fed with habits that move you in a direction, change for the positive is inevitable.
The second part of the program was designed to put you in an environment where you were asked to apply training and dietary principles that took you out of your comfort zone. Training density and caloric intake prescriptions had a cumulative effect of burning away more fat and building muscle.
The third phase, is where things get interesting.
By now, your hard work will be showing results. Your clothes should be fitting better and your muscles should be feeling bigger and harder, more toned. You’ve been growing your muscles, but the main difference in a change of appearance has come from the fact that they have become more visible because the layer of fat, hiding those muscles, has thinned out. Hormonal optimization will burn fat at a faster rate.
This next phase is focused on building muscle, whilst burning the fat. This is where you will get stronger and it’s going to show. When you focus on GH (Growth Hormone) and Cortisol. When you send your GH levels through the roof and reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, the results can be staggering.
Friend:” Hey bru/girlfriend, WTF are you doing to yourself, you have to show me…”
Training and lactic acid
If you’ve ever trained so hard that your muscles hurt the next day, this is the result of lactic acid in your system. When there’s a lot of acid in your system as a result of a metabolic waste breakdown, your body initiates certain precesses that will address this acidity.
The body’s way of getting this acidity into balance is for the pituitary gland to produce huge amounts of GH, which also happens to be the biggest trigger of simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain!! – Bingo!
An added benefit of GH s that it reduces the FAT STORING effects of cortisol. Less cortisol in your body allows you to sleep better, feel better, and store less belly fat.
In training, there are ways to make you produce more lactic acid, and that’s what we’re going to concentrate on.
The normal cadence of training can be broken down as a 2 – 0 – 2. This means that you lift the weight for a count of 2 seconds, hold the apex and lower for a count of 2. Sometimes you will be told to lower the weight for a count of 3 seconds on the negative rep.
If we’re after the maximum lactic acid generating style of repetition, then we’re going to follow a 4 – 0 – 1 cadence.
You lift the weight, counting to 4, then lower the weight as quickly as possible, good form permitting, and immediately begin the next lift. Lifting in this way is going to create a maximum amount of lactic acid, (some call it a burn) which in turn, is going to send your GH levels soaring and you’ll be on the receiving end of all its benefits. Yay!
Phase 3 Diet
First, determine your maintenance calories (I do this for you). I took you through this process in the first part of the program. Your body fat composition has changed over the past while, and you should, after re-testing, know what your new caloric requirements are to maintain your LBM (lean body mass)
The third phase is the first time I’m going to ask you to eat above your maintenance allowance. Because of the long period of deficit and the subsequent hormonal environment you’ve created, your body is now prepared to grow.
Assuming you have a handle on your new maintenance calories…
Workout days – add 400 extra overall calories
Non Workout days – subtract 200 calories from the number of your maintenance calories
MACRO NUTRIENT BREAKDOWN
Protein
Workout days – 1.5 grams per pound of LBM (lean body mass)
Non-Workout days – 1.2 grams per pound of LBM
Carbs
Workout days – 1 gram per pound of LBM
Non Workout days – 0.5 grams per pound of LBM
Fat
Now you’ll have a balance of calories that you can have, once you’ve had your carbs and your proteins, – With the knowledge that fats have 9 calories per gram, simply divide the balance of calories remaining by 9 and you’ll have the grams of fats you can eat.
- a word for those who are not into actually counting the calories and don’t use the app I recommended…
On workout days, you eat a lot of protein, on non-workout days, it’s a little less, but still quite prevalent in your diet. Your carbs should be about as much as will get you through a workout and then you should pull back on carbs if you’re not exercising. Fat intake in the absence of carbs can stay consistent as this is an energy source.
How is the Fast day coming along? Have you managed to switch over to the full day fast yet? I’m doing that right now. I have to say it’s more challenging on the mind than it is on the body. We spend so much time thinking about food and the next meal that we’re going to prepare, and suddenly…. Crickets in that department for a whole day. Don’t worry, you won’t run out of energy. – And if you do, is the world going to fall apart? – Nope! – but what you have done is proven to yourself that you’re not at the behest of chowing down every so often. It’s like taking a deep breath and then swimming a length underwater… Scary, but you’d be surprised what you can do.
I over-did my cheat day, because I was working late, preparing the course content, I managed to munch my way through a big bag (I mean really big, family sized) of wine gums. Hey the gelatin is good for you, or so I justified it to myself. Today, I have a mild headache from the sugar explosion… – Yeah the struggle continues.
If you wish to make the most of your fasting, know that you have now trained your body to cleanse itself during non eating times. When we eat, Insulin rises… What people don’t know is that it rises and settles over a period of 3 hours. This means that you should not eat for 3 hours before you go to bed. In this way, you’re not putting strain on your cells and the endochrine system is allowed to follow circadian rythms as nature intended us to.
I wish you a beautifully productive week. I’m going to sound like your mother now, but drink water, lean into habits that serve you.
Take Care
Thorsten
